This delicious Cannellini and Tuna Salad recipe came from my parents who learned how to make it in Italy. I started calling it “Protein Salad” one summer when I was serving it to my friends’ teenagers. I figured if an athlete hears ‘protein’ he will be more likely to eat it.

Put lemon zest and sugar into Cuisinart and process fine. Add remaining ingredients, process smooth, and put into cake pan (greased and floured.) When making cupcakes, put the liners into the pans and then use a scoop to evenly measure the cake batter into the pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F until done. Use a cake tester when it comes out clean. For regular sized cupcakes it will take about 23 minutes. For jumbo cupcakes it takes around 25 min.

The butter and cream cheese should be at room temperature. Cream together and add vanilla. Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat well. Pipe onto cupcakes and refrigerate if not eating the same day.

This recipe is the vanilla cupcakes in the photos.

The chocolate cupcakes are “Black Mocha Cake” from page 146 of the Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts. The frosting on the chocolate cupcakes is “Buttercream” from page 84. “Holy Moly” it it good! With 15 egg yolks and four cups of butter it sure is rich. The Moosewood Buttercream is labor-intensive but so so worth it.

I originally got this recipe in the local newspaper about 10 years ago, and over the years I’ve tweaked it. This takes 15 minutes to make, and it’s only six ingredients!

Package it in a nice tin or holiday GladWare container and give it to neighbors for a token homemade Christmas present. It’s always appreciated and looked forward to by our friends.

You will have to play around with the recipe because every microwave oven is different. Even an extra 30 seconds can make this go from amazing to awful. If it’s undercooked it will be chewy like caramel (still yummy) and if it’s cooked too long the cashews will be brown and it will almost taste burned.

I’ve got it down to a science, and here is my version:

MICROWAVE CASHEW BRITTLE

1 cup lightly salted roasted CASHEW halves & pieces – this is aprox. 1/2 can (Planter’s can is 9.5oz, and Southern Grove by ALDI is an 8oz. can)

1 cup granulated white SUGAR

1/2 cup LIGHT CORN SYRUP

1 tsp. BUTTER (I just cut 1/3 of the TBSP. line on a stick of butter, but sometimes it’s closer to 1/2 of the line so it’s really more like 2 tsp.)

1 tsp. pure VANILLA extract

1 tsp. BAKING SODA

In a 2 qt. microwave-safe bowl with handle, stir together the nuts, sugar and corn syrup.

Microwave, uncovered, at high for 6 minutes, until the mixture is light brown, stirring well halfway through at 3 minutes. (The original recipe said around 6-8 minutes, but again, it depends on your microwave.)

Prepare vanilla, butter, and baking soda measurements into small bowls, as you will need to work quickly with the hot candy.

Using oven mitts, remove the bowl from the microwave oven. It will be VERY HOT, so be sure you don’t let it touch your skin.

Stir in the butter and vanilla. I use two rubber spatulas, one to stir, and one to clean off the spatula back into the bowl.

Continue to microwave the candy, at high, for 90 seconds (the original recipe said 1 1/2 – 2 minutes but 1 1/2 is perfect in our microwave.) The mixture should be caramel-colored. Get your cookie sheet ready in the meantime.

Remove with oven mitts and add baking soda. Stir quickly until light and foamy. IMMEDIATELY and carefully pour onto cookie sheet and spread thin with spatula as quickly as possible (sometimes I just tip the cookie sheet and let ooze, but it will be thicker.)

Cool for 30 minutes and then break into small pieces. I usually put a plastic sandwich baggie on my hands to break the candy.

Stores well in a covered container for up to two weeks (but it won’t last that long.)

This is so delish! It’s that mix of sweet and salty which is now so popular with the sea salt & caramel.

THIS LAST PHOTO IS WHAT IT SHOULD NOT LOOK LIKE. This batch was cooked 30 seconds too long and the cashews are too brown.

So every day I get an email from zulily advertising their sales. Today I happened to take a look and was intrigued by the day planners and organizers from momAgenda.

If the mini day planner is originally $41 ($19.99 at zulily), then how much are the maxi day planners from the company website?! The momAgenda (or myAgenda) Desktop day planners are $43 and are now on sale for $34.40. And the Mini-Daily agendas are on sale for $28.70 (the myAgenda minis are $36 but on sale for $28.80.)